Rider, restaurateur Val Belcher dies

Val Belcher went into the restaurant business after playing for the Rough Rders and the Blue Bombers, starting up both the Lone Star cafe and Big Easy's Seafood & Steak House (Tony Caldwell/Ottawa Sun file photo)

Former Rough Rider great Val Belcher died Sunday morning in the intensive care unit at the Ottawa Heart Institute.

He was 57.

Belcher, who also founded the popular Lone Star Texas Grill and Big Easy's Seafood & Steak House, retired from the restaurant business in August while waiting for a heart transplant.

He leaves behind three children - Layne, Ashton, Meagan - and life partner Leslie Hines.

"He was a big guy with a big heart," said Greg Pollock, who first met Belcher in 1986 and was employed by him, off and on, for 15 years. "If you worked at the Lone Star you were part of his team, part of his family, and he'd do anything for you. He was just a nice, big generous guy."

A native Texan who played at the University of Houston and was a third round pick of the Dallas Cowboys in 1977, Belcher moved to Canada and signed on as a guard with the Rough Riders in 1979. After five seasons in the nation's capital, he finished his career in Winnipeg, playing two more with the Blue Bombers.

Belcher was named a CFL all-star three times, in 1980, '81 and '82.

"He was a very good player," said Jeff Avery, a teammate of Belcher's for four seasons. "Technically, he was very strong. He wasn't the biggest guy ... he was just a very solid player.

"He was obviously a good businessman, with the work he did with the Lone Star, and expanding it to what it became. He was also just a really good guy with a great sense of humour. Him and (late former Rider) Jim Coode ... don't turn your back on them or you're going to pay (with a practical joke)."